Destination USA

Pandora – The World of Avatar Review

Posted on
August 30, 2017

There were two things that Hubby was excited to see at Walt Disney World; Star Wars and Pandora – The World of Avatar.
If you have not seen the film, it is a must before you head to Animal Kingdom, where the World of Avatar has been built.
Pandora
The new World Of Avatar is set on the lush alien world of Pandora and as you walk into the Valley of Mo’Ara it feels like you have really walked onto a new planet, complete with stunning floating mountains, alien plant life and stunning waterfalls around every corner. There are even speakers playing alien animal noises and water dripping which really adds to the effect.
Pandora
You can walk along the winding pathways all around, and under, the floating mountains, giving you a 360° view of them.
Pandora
For the kids there is an interactive drum circle, where they can watch a performance or get a beat going with their friends, a large plant creature that reacts to touch, and strange alien animals who squirt water at you.
Pandora
There are two rides in Pandora – World of Avatar; The Na’Vi River Ride and Avatar: Flight of Passage and the fast track system for both rides had sold out, so it is worth booking as early as possible. FastPass+ lets you reserve access to certain rides 60 days before check-in when you have a Walt Disney World Resort hotel reservation and 30 days in advance with standard entry tickets.
We were told that the quietest time to go is during the Animal Kingdom Magic Hours and despite getting there before opening, the queue for Avatar: Flight of Passage was a staggering 210 minutes!!
There was no way Hubby was missing it so he got in the queue, whilst I took the kids on the Na’Vi River Ride which was a more reasonable 20 minute wait which queued through the stunning Na’Vi forest and through a settlement.
Pandora

The Na’Vi River Ride

Once onboard the reed boat, we found ourselves gliding down the gentle, mysterious river and the kids were really excited to see the full beauty of Pandora revealing itself.
You coast through a series of caves, passing by exotic glowing plants and amazing creatures of the rainforest. It’s the little touches that makes it feel real as you see little feet padding around on leaves above your head and bioluminescent plants literally dancing before your eyes.
The adventure comes to a conclusion as the very realistic Shaman of songs demonstrates her deep connection to the life force of Pandora and sends positive energy out into the forest through the power of her music!
Na'vi Shaman

Pandora: Flight of Passage

With the longest queue we had at Walt Disney World, is Pandora: Flight of Passage worth the wait?
YES!!
Thankfully Hubby picked me up a parent swap ticket which allowed me to take Isaac on through the fastpass system when he got off the ride, which saved queuing twice.
Fastpass
If you do get a fast pass you miss out on all the pre-ride experience, which really sets the ride up. The outside portion winds through the floating mountain range before taking you into the caverns where you will find cave paintings of Banshees, large, bird-like aerial predators that are native to Pandora.
Avatar: Flight of Passage
The queue then goes through the remnants of an RDA facility before entering the active research facility of the Pandoran Conservation Initiative.
Avatar: Flight of Passage
This gives you a real insight of things to come with a Banshee tracking screen and an avatar suspended in a tank.
Avatar: Flight of Passage
You then head into an industrial basement area for the final part of the queue system, which is where the fast pass people join the queue. It is then into the genetic matching room is where you are matched to your Avatar to take a flight aboard a banshee.
Avatar: Flight of Passage
There are a lot of special effects in the genetic matching and decontamination room, which makes the experience appear very realistic and it is clearly explained how each guest will be matched to an Avatar, which look like the Na’vi, but are actually a blend of human and Na’vi DNA. After a bit of suspense, would it work, or not?, we were ushered into the final briefing room and given 3D glasses before heading into the link chamber.
Flight of the Avatar
Any valuables are then secured in a locker at the back of the chamber and you have to sit upon vehicles that resemble motorcycles. Once seated, with your chest resting against the front of the cycle, the back and leg restraints come up and secure you into place.
Each seat is equipped with an onboard video display, that relays various startup information, tracking maps and various data regarding your mind connection to the Avatar. You then feel a buzz in the back and leg restraints as if you DNA was actually being paired with the Avatar to make it a really believable experience.
The screen comes up and “whoosh” you are sat upon a live, breathing Banshee and dropping at speed. It honestly feels like you are flying with beautifully clear 3D imagery, wind, water and smells that bring the ride to life all around you. If this is the future of rollercoasters then it is amazing, both Hubby and I loved every second but Isaac, who doesn’t like rollercoasters, found it too scary.
Pandora - The World of Avatar
You then exit the ride by the shop, Windtraders, which is packed full of Avatar goodies and the chance to make your very own Avatar.
Pandora - The World of Avatar
We found ourselves falling in love with a rookery of baby Banshees and one found its way home with us. These interactive banshee’s includes three ranges of motion – mouth, head, and wings – that are controlled by a hidden controller you can hide in your pocket so they really look alive.
Banshee
Animal Kingdom also offers a late night magic hours experience for Disney Hotel guests, which sees the whole forest come to life in bioluminescent wonder between 10pm – Midnight.

Pandora at Night

Photo Credit: Walt Disney World



Pandora: World of Avatar

TAGS
RELATED POSTS
25 Comments
  1. Reply

    Rachel

    August 30, 2017

    Well this certainly looks like quite the experience with all that amazing scenery and whilst I have never seen the film ( I know I know) this does look amazing.

  2. Reply

    Rhian Westbury

    August 30, 2017

    This is somewhere I’d love to go if I ever managed to head to Disney World x

  3. Reply

    Mel

    August 31, 2017

    Wow that looks like such a fun experience!What a wait though, your husband must be very patient!

  4. Reply

    Gareth Torrance

    August 31, 2017

    Oh my god! I’m a huge fan of Avatar and this is amazing! Especially the banshee ride! And the fact that you can go under the floating rocks… Oh man, I am having a fanboy moment right now!

  5. Reply

    jill conyers

    August 31, 2017

    That looks awesome. I would love to see the late night tour. Actually I would love to see all of it.

  6. Reply

    Talya

    August 31, 2017

    I can see why this has the longest queues it looks amazing! Glad it was worth the wait 😉

  7. Reply

    Five little doves

    August 31, 2017

    Oh wow!! My son (and husband) would go crazy for this! Sounds like it was worth the queue!

  8. Reply

    Helen

    August 31, 2017

    Wow what a wait time that was! It sounds so worth it though. Both rides look and sound amazing. Although I’m not a huge Avatar fan both me and my daughter would love to go and ride for ourselves.

  9. Reply

    Cat

    August 31, 2017

    Oh my! I haven’t been in to Disney in so long. This makes me want to go back. It looks wonderful!

  10. Reply

    Erica Price

    September 1, 2017

    Wow that looks amazing! That’s new since we were last there.

  11. Reply

    Nichola - Globalmouse

    September 1, 2017

    I would absolutely love to visit Pandora, it wasn’t there last time we were at Disney so it’s number one on my list to visit. Looks amazing.

  12. Reply

    Hannah

    September 1, 2017

    Again, another great Disney post! The rides sound amazing. Glad you got to go on it too… eventually, ha!

  13. Reply

    Sophie's Nursery

    September 1, 2017

    Love the sound of the river ride, not sure I could cope with a queue that long I get too impatient 😀 At least you got hubby to wait lol x

  14. Reply

    Kira

    September 1, 2017

    Oh wow !! Looks incredible. Would love to take the girls to Disney x

  15. Reply

    tots2travel

    September 1, 2017

    Wow, that’s look amazing. I like the lush, green outdoor spaces.

  16. Reply

    Newcastle Family Life

    September 1, 2017

    wow this looks amazing! I had no idea they had anything like this, it sounds brilliant. x

  17. Reply

    Kerry Norris

    September 1, 2017

    Ahhh I’m so jealous. This opened literally 2 weeks after we left. It looks incredible. Loving the pictures x

  18. Reply

    Laura H

    September 2, 2017

    I loved the Avatar films so I’d absolutely love this immersive experience! Looks really cool for all the family 😀

  19. Reply

    Emma

    September 2, 2017

    This looks amazing! I absolutely loved Avatar and thought the CGI was incredible. I’ve loved reading all your posts on Walt Disney World. I’ll definitely look into taking the boys in a few years!

  20. Reply

    Baby Isabella

    September 2, 2017

    It looks just like the film set. My daddy would love to visit The World of Avatar! One day we will eventually make it to Disneyland 🙂

  21. Reply

    Fashion and Style Police

    September 3, 2017

    What an amazing experience. The river ride sounds great. The waiting times are usually so long.

  22. Reply

    Ana De- Jesus

    September 3, 2017

    I have to admit that I was never the biggest fan of Avatar but the world of Pandora that they have created at Walt Disney World is stunning! x

  23. Reply

    Stephanie

    September 4, 2017

    This looks amazing! I loved the film, so would love this. What a great idea on the ride swap

  24. Reply

    Cadu

    September 13, 2017

    And now I need to come back to the Walt Disney World…
    Avatar is one of my favorite movies and this park seems to be amazing. I remember all the 3D effects and I could watch the movie again and again.
    Thank you for letting me know about the park!

  25. Reply

    admin press

    September 13, 2017

    I like the fact that you are everywhere.

Leave a Reply

KARA GUPPY
Bournemouth

Are we nearly there yet? is a new online blog run by me, Kara Guppy, and is named as such thanks to my daughter Eliza who always asks that very question when we are less than 5 minutes up the road heading off on our adventures. You may know me from my other family blog chelseamamma.co.uk